College highlights:Four-year basketball player at Portland State and two-time All-Big Sky Tournament selection. Vikings' leader in career games played (121), career wins (73) and career field-goal percentage (.663). Played on two teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. All-Big Sky selection in his one season of football with 29 receptions for 453 yards and two touchdowns.

STOCKTON - Greg Thomas figures if his son Julius becomes a Super Bowl hero for the Denver Broncos today, the opposing coach only has himself to blame.

Greg Thomas played football at University of the Pacific in 1983 when current Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll was the offensive coordinator. Carroll moved the highly touted wide receiver to a different position, and Greg Thomas suffered a career-ending leg injury in practice.

"If I don't move positions, I probably don't get hurt, probably get drafted into the NFL and leave Stockton, and maybe there's no Julius," Greg Thomas said. "I've been saying that Pete is the reason Julius was born, so if Julius does something big to win the game, it's Pete's own fault."

The Stockton native only played football his freshman year at Tokay High and as a fifth-year senior at Portland State after a successful college basketball career. In 2011, the 6-foot-5 Thomas was impressive enough to get drafted in the fourth round by the Broncos. After two injury-plagued seasons, Thomas broke out this season with 65 receptions for 788 yards and 12 touchdowns, and has been an integral target for Peyton Manning in the highest scoring offense in NFL history.

Thomas' transformation from hardwood star to hard-to-cover tight end has gained national attention and generated plenty of excitement at his high school.

"It's exciting and it's crazy and it's going to be something to see one of our graduates play in the Super Bowl," Tokay athletic director and varsity football coach Louis Franklin said. "We're so proud of him, and let's face it, it would be a crazy story even if he didn't go to our high school."

Crazy, maybe. But completely believable to his parents.

Greg and Toria Thomas said their son has a combination of skill and single-mindedness that allows him to conquer challenges. Toria Thomas said a perfect example of her son's personality came after the Broncos beat the Patriots 26-16 on Jan. 19 in Denver to secure the AFC Conference title and a trip to the Super Bowl. She and Greg were both at the game, and will be at MetLife Stadium today.

"Julius came over to me after (the) game to my seat near the edge of the field. He was very happy, doing dance moves and be-bopping around the field," Toria Thomas said. "Then, we got into the car to go to dinner, and he was already thinking about the Super Bowl. In his mind, he was already moving on to the next challenge."

His father, who was a 6-foot-6 receiver at Pacific, encouraged his son to play football, but after his freshman year at Tokay, Julius Thomas concentrated on basketball. But the football talent was always there, according to Franklin. Between his freshman and sophomore years, he was at a football camp run by former Tokay varsity coach Jeff Tracy. Franklin was helping out and got a look at the youngster's potential.

"He stood out, that's for sure," said Franklin of Thomas, whom the Broncos did not make available for comment for this story. "He was a nice kid with a high level of athleticism. I remember pointing him out to the coaches and saying that's the guy that you have to get on your football team. But he was more interested in pursuing basketball, and obviously was fantastic."

He was good enough at basketball to be standout on the Tokay team that won the 2006 Sac-Joaquin Section Division I title. Thomas was named The Record's co-player of the year and he earned a basketball scholarship to Portland State. With Thomas, the Vikings made two NCAA Tournament appearances. Even though he didn't go Portland State to be a football player, he tried to eat like one.

Greg Thomas said he dropped off Julius early before his freshman year to settle into his dorm. Julius and another basketball player watched a football practice and afterward snuck into the team meal.

"They got caught by one of the coaches," said Greg Thomas, who is the principal at West Campus High School in Sacramento. "They said they played basketball, and the coach asked Julius if he wanted to play football. That helped to put the thought in his mind."

But Thomas wasn't allowed to play football during his four seasons of basketball eligibility. In 2010, as a fifth-year senior, Thomas approached Vikings coach Nigel Burton, who played at Pacific in 1995, its final season before the program was canceled.

"I challenged him in the process. In order to show how serious he was, I had him come back to me a second time after he first approached me," Burton said. "He was passionate about it, I could tell this wasn't a fly-by-night situation."

It didn't take long for Burton to realize he had lucked into an impact player. Thomas ended the season with 29 receptions for 453 yards and two touchdowns and was a first-team All-Big Sky Conference selection.

"He was different, he was special," Burton said. "There's not a lot of guys with that size and speed and with that kind of intelligence, and he's so coachable.

"Obviously we're proud of him and proud of what he has accomplished. What I'm most proud of is not that he's playing in the Super Bowl or playing in the NFL, but that he stayed humble and stayed true to himself."

That has never been a problem for Julius Thomas, according to his father.

"That's just how he is. He just turns it up when he needs to," Greg Thomas said. "And now we'll get to watch him play in the Super Bowl, which is a wonderful thing."

Contact reporter Scott Linesburgh at (209) 546-8281 or slinesburgh@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/sportsblog and on twitter @ScottLinesburgh.